


Ace of Spades

by mandykaysfic



Series: 12 Days of Christmas 2015 [4]
Category: Malory Towers - Enid Blyton
Genre: Gen, Omens & Portents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 04:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5853784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandykaysfic/pseuds/mandykaysfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mavis can see her future as an opera singer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ace of Spades

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Set during _Third Term at Malory Towers_ by Enid Blyton  
>  2\. Written for the 12 days of Christmas 
> 
> On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...  
> ...three portents of doom

The other third formers didn't understand. The Billington Talent Spotting contest was a big opportunity. Of course, it was really her chance at fame and fortune, but the others would call her generous instead of selfish for a change, when she offered to include Belinda, Irene and Zerelda. Between them, they'd have been certain to take out the top prizes. As long as she came first, Mavis didn't care which of the girls won the other prizes.

She hadn't expected Alicia to call her too silly for words, or cheap and idiotic. Or Daphne, of all people, to say Mavis lacked common sense; she might have expected that from Jean as form captain, but even Jean had called her a fathead.

Upset, Mavis rushed out of the common room. Not wanting to get caught in her dormitory by Matron, who had an unfortunate habit of prowling around the bedrooms and bathrooms at that time of the evening, she headed for the music rooms. There she could feel sorry for herself in private.

The last room in the corridor was the least favourite of those who learned music. It was smaller than the others, and Irene wasn't the only one who complained about its poor acoustics. Taking a deep breath so as to be ready to indulge in a crying fit, she pushed open the door. She didn't expect to find a bunch of second formers, sitting on the floor in a circle.

"Lottie, you were supposed to lock the door," cried Margot, one of the bright sparks of that form, as she bent forward in an effort to shield whatever they were doing.

Lottie flushed and protested wildly. "No, Susan was the one doing that. I brought the biscuits." 

"Don't you this it's too early for a feast?" asked Mavis, forgetting she'd come to be alone. She peered over the girls' heads, trying to see exactly what was on the floor.

"Oh, no, Mavis. It's not a feast," said Susan earnestly.

"The biscuits are a snack. We had barely enough bread and butter to go round. Was it like that at your table?" Katie tried her best to distract Mavis.

"Margot! You're not playing cards!" exclaimed Mavis, catching a glimpse of several pieces of pasteboard. Playing cards was strictly forbidden at Malory Towers.

Margot shook her head. "Of course not. We're not allowed to play cards. You know that, Mavis."

"Those look like playing cards to me."

The younger girls exchanged glances. After a moment, Margot spoke up. "We're telling fortunes. Susan's cousin gave her a book. It tells you what each card predicts."

"I'm going to marry a wealthy man," said Susan importantly. "That's what the three of clubs in the future position of the three card draw means."

"The cards said I'd been to a party in the past, and it was true! Last hols I went to my cousin's twenty-first birthday party. I had a brand new dress and slippers, and I stayed up until midnight," chimed in Lottie.

"Would you like a turn? Move up, girls. Let Mavis sit down," said Margot.

Mavis squashed herself into the gap between Margot and Susan. Lottie gathered up the cards and handed them to her.

"As you shuffle the cards, you should think about something that's important to you. We'll do the three card spread. The first card you put down represents the past. The second card card is the present. The third card is the future."

Eagerly, Mavis shuffled the cards. She knew exactly what to think about - the Billington Talent Spotting contest. She'd find some way to go alone, and when she'd sung, and won, of course, her picture would be appear in the paper. The reporter would write about her wonderful voice, and how the audience rose to their feet to applaud. It would be a little taste of what her life would be like when she really was a famous opera singer. By chance, there would be someone who would seek her out, saying she must leave Malory Towers at once, to come to his school and sing. She almost forgot where she was, so entranced by her daydream. An elbow in the ribs brought her down to earth.

"What do I do now?" she asked as she handed the cards to Margot.

Margot fanned the cards and held them out to Mavis. "Choose a card, any card. Now place it on the floor in front of you."

"A little bit to the left," said Frances, speaking up for the first time.

"Three of hearts. Look it up, Susan."

" _You need to be cautious. Don't say something you'll regret._ What could that mean?" 

Mavis knew what it meant; she should have kept the information talent show to herself. "I was really rude about one of the prefects and she gave me five hundred lines," improvised Mavis. "I didn't know she overheard me. Gosh, that's amazing. What's next?"

"Choose another card and place it in the middle."

"It's another heart. The five this time. Does that matter, it being another heart?" asked Mavis curiously.

"No. The cards are magically drawn to you," said Margot, trying to sound mysterious and failing. 

Susan ran her finger down the page, stopping at the appropriate line. " _There are jealous people around you. Take your time to make any decisions._ "

"This is really amazing," repeated Mavis. "It's absolutely true. Everyone knows the third formers are so jealous of my voice." The talent show was Saturday night. This was Thursday. She'd think about what to do on Friday and make her decision on Saturday. She'd never believed in fortune telling before, but this was incrdeible.

"Now to find out your future."

Mavis held her hand above the cards and tried to detect any vibrations, or something that would indicate which card she should take. She didn't feel a thing. 

"Close your eyes and pick one," suggested Frances. "That's what I did."

Mavis laughed, and did just that. "It's the ace of spades," she said as she laid it next to the five of hearts.

"Oh, no!" Margot frowned. "She should choose again."

Lottie burst into tears. Katie clutched Frances; she admired Mavis from the bottom of her heart, and had made up her mind to be in the audience when Mavis made her debut as an opera singer. 

"What's the matter? What does it mean?" The second formers' reaction to the card was completely unexpected.

"It's the death card," said Susan finally, when nobody else answered. 

"That's absurd. I'm not going to die," said Mavis firmly.

"My uncle did. He picked that card when my cousin told his fortune, and he died a week later."

"Give me the book. Let me see for myself."

Susan's hand shook as she handed it over.

"It also says 'things come to a head', as well as 'emotional conflict, obsession and death'. So, you silly children, I'm not going to die. All it means is the thing I thought about when I shuffled the cards will come to a head. Lottie, you need to wash your face before you go to bed, and Susan, you should put this away where Matron won't find it." Mavis got to her feet and dusted herself off. She ignored their worried promises that they'd try and keep her safe, and flounced out of the room.

 

*

Mavis struggled to stay on her feet, visions of the ace of spades dancing before her eyes. Walking ever so many miles back to Malory Towers at night was bad enough, but the storm made it terrifying.

"I don't want to die. I don't want to die," she croaked, as the wind tore her words from her throat.

Wet through and chilled to the bone, she plodded along, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. Missing the last bus had been the last straw. She'd begged and begged them to let her enter the talent spotting show. They wouldn't even listen to her sing, no matter how she'd tried to explain about her future career as an opera singer.

Her chest hurt and her throat ached. She wished she'd never seen the advertisement in the paper. She'd be tucked up in her bed in the dormitory, safe and warm.

She tripped over something and fell to the side of the road. "I don't want to die," she cried once more, before lapsing into unconsciousness as the ace of spades loomed over her and laughed.

END


End file.
